The present invention relates to new anticancer compounds. Such compounds are made from aromatic aldehydes and derivatives thereof, where certain H-atoms have been replaced by deuterium atoms.
Anticancer drugs on the basis of aromatic aldehydes and derivatives thereof are known according to the present state of the art.
Certain aromatic aldehydes and derivatives of aldehydes have proven effective in treatment of various cancers of carcinoma type, both in animal systems and in human patients. This has been reported in the literature by Kochi et al., Cancer Treat. Rep., 64: 21-23, (1980); Kochi et al., 13th International Cancer Conference, Seattle, WA, USA, (1982); Kochi et al., Cancer Treat. Rep., 69: 533-537, (1985) and Pettersen et al., Anticancer Res., 6: 147-152 (1986). GB patent 1.582.666, DE patent 27 10 327 and EP-A 0 148 094 also describe the effects of such aldehydes.
Due to instability and low activity of these substances on cancer cells it is necessary to administer relatively high doses frequently. It has been reported that treatment of patients must be conducted continuously for at least several months, and in some cases for years, to cure the patient (Kochi 80, 85).